Separation

Most modern plants use a separator to control the fat content of various products. A separator is a high-speed centrifuge that acts on the principle that cream or butterfat is lighter than other components in milk. (The specific gravity of skim milk is 1.0358, specific gravity of heavy cream 1.0083.) The heart of the separator is an airtight bowl with funnellike stainless steel disks. The bowl is spun at a high speed (about 6,000 revolutions per minute), producing centrifugal forces of 4,000 to 5,000 times the force of gravity. Centrifugation causes the skim, which is denser than cream, to collect at the outer wall of the bowl. The lighter part (cream) is forced to the centre and piped off for appropriate use.

An additional benefit of the separator is that it also acts as a clarifier. Particles even heavier than the skim, such as sediment, somatic cells, and some bacteria, are thrown to the outside and collected in pockets on the side of the separator. This material, known as “separator sludge,” is discharged periodically and sometimes automatically when buildup is sensed.

Most separators are controlled by computers and can produce milk of almost any fat content. Current standards generally set whole milk at 3.25 percent fat, low-fat at 1 or 2 percent, and skim at less than 0.5 percent. (Most skim milk is actually less than 0.01 percent fat.)

Homogenization

Milk is homogenized to prevent fat globules from floating to the top and forming a cream layer or cream plug. Homogenizers are simply heavy-duty, high-pressure pumps equipped with a special valve at the discharge end. They are designed to break up fat globules from their normal size of up to 18 micrometres to less than 2 micrometres in diameter (a micrometre is one-millionth of a metre). Hot milk (with the fat in liquid state) is pumped through the valve under high pressure, resulting in a uniform and stable distribution of fat throughout the milk.

Two-stage homogenization is sometimes practiced, during which the milk is forced through a second homogenizer valve or a breaker ring. The purpose is to break up fat clusters or clumps and thus produce a more uniform product with a slightly reduced viscosity.

Homogenization is considered successful when there is no visible separation of cream and the fat content in the top 100 millilitres of milk in a one-litre bottle does not differ by more than 10 percent from the bottom portion after standing 48 hours.

In addition to avoiding a cream layer, other benefits of homogenized milk include a whiter appearance, richer flavour, more uniform viscosity, better “whitening” in coffee, and softer curd tension (making the milk more digestible for humans). Homogenization is also essential for providing improved body and texture in ice cream, as well as numerous other products such as half-and-half, cream cheese, and evaporated milk.